Inbox: Apartments, Cars and Parking

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The article states the problem [“Block Busters,” WW,
Sept. 19, 2012]. You spoke to 10 residents who have 11 cars among them.
It doesn’t matter if they don’t drive them very often, they still have
to be parked.

The apartment
complexes along the Max Red/Blue lines west of the city had the same
problem. City “leaders” predicted people would find being close to
transit so convenient they wouldn’t need cars. So, they didn’t put in
adequate parking. This may be true and perhaps they don’t need cars, but they all still have cars.

The solution along
Division Street (and probably Hawthorne) seems obvious. Make parking
permit-only. Give each homeowner first dibs on the curb in front of
their home. They can either use it to park their own vehicles or rent
the space to a tenant of one of the apartment buildings.

This would have a
couple of effects. First, it would force the urban sustainable granola
types who live in these apartments to make a decision on whether or not
they really want to commit to a car-free lifestyle. Second, the
developers of these apartments will have to confront the reality of how
much people are willing to pay for an apartment with no parking.

—“Stretch”

If I owned a car and wanted to [rent] one of these cheaply
built boxes, I might ask myself, “Is there parking within a few feet of
my unit?” If the answer was no, and I went ahead and [rented], then I’m
taking responsibility for the decision. I have to live with the fact
that I need to walk to my car—in the rain. If I am an agitated neighbor
who sees an influx of cars in the ’hood, tough shit. Them’s the breaks.
Or brakes. If it is legal, I say build them and they will come and
you’ll work it out. Sell a car, buy a bike.

Everything is crazy
expensive. I’m surprised they didn’t include at least a couple of
affordable events for people to go to. It makes the whole thing feel
elitist. Which I suppose it is.

—“adlangx”

It was delicious. Deal with it.

—“Jon”

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR must include the author’s street address and phone number for verification. Letters must be 250 or fewer words. Submit to: 2220 NW Quimby St., Portland, OR 97210. Fax: (503) 243-1115, Email: mzusman@wweek.com

"In the low usage areas, we found that our vehicles sit idle four times longer, ultimately affecting overall vehicle availability for the Portland membership base, as well as parking for the Portland community."

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